Authorities from Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia collaborate on integrating their customs systems to facilitate trade by enhancing data sharing and streamlining border clearances. A two-week workshop is currently underway to advance the initiative, as local media reported on Tuesday.
The effort focuses on the Nacala Development Corridor, a crucial trade route that connects landlocked Malawi and Zambia to the Indian Ocean via Mozambique’s Nacala port. The integration is part of the Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project, backed by the World Bank, which has also established multiple One Stop Border Posts to improve efficiency at crossings.
Malawi Revenue Authority’s Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Cornelius Kakweza, stressed the initiative’s potential to reduce costs and expedite clearance processes for traders. “By streamlining procedures, traders will have clearer expectations regarding costs and requirements at border crossings,” Kakweza said.